


Severed Forever

by Watermelonsmellinfellon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Being an Idiot, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anti-Werewolf BS, Bigotry & Prejudice, Bullying, Character Death, Dubious Morality, Dumbledore's Bias, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, on both sides of the divide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 12:57:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17224487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Watermelonsmellinfellon/pseuds/Watermelonsmellinfellon
Summary: The ramifications of Severus Snape dying during the Werewolf prank.





	1. Sectum

**Author's Note:**

> -As requested by an Anon Ask on Tumblr. "Can you do like a ficlet  
>  of what would happen if Remus HAD killed Snape during the prank  
>  and he found out the next morning that he is basically sentenced   
> to life in Azkaban because of Sirius being an asshole?"
> 
> -This contains some instances that can be extrapolated from what  
> we've learned about the Marauders in the books. Especially what we  
> saw in HBP during Harry's detention with Severus, cleaning out files  
> full of James and Sirius' detentions and the things they had done to  
> earn them.
> 
> -Harold Minchum is the Minister before Bagnold, who was Minister  
>  during the height of Voldy's reign. She came before Fudge.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus Lupin hears some bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The title is a pun. Sectumsempra, a curse Severus Snape developed,  
> means 'sever forever'. The chapter title is 'Sectum' which is Latin for  
> 'having been cut' which references many things. Severus' life being  
> cut down so terribly, Remus' faith in his friends being torn to pieces.  
> And the support Dumbledore was getting from the Ministry, being  
> severed completely.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

 

 ****Remus came to slowly and painfully, like always. It was a process he’d come to be familiar with. The change was never easy and his bones ached for days afterward.

This time though…

He found himself not in the Shrieking Shack. Not in the tunnel leading to it either. Remus was laying in the Hospital Wing, and his limbs were shackled. Feet together and then hands together. And other than physical shackles, there were magic-binding shackles meant to essentially render him to the common power of a muggle, all up his arms in black, spiraling tattoos.

It was daytime but the sun was not out. The sky outside the windows was stormy and dreary. Rain poured down and thunder boomed in the distance. It was ominous.

There was no one immediately near him. In fact, beyond the large, white curtain set up to give him privacy, he could only hear somewhat muffle voices. When he focused especially hard, his hearing cleared and he could pinpoint two voices at once, in heated debate. One being the Headmaster.

“I can’t believe you went against the law and allowed a Dark Creature into this institution, Albus!” the unfamiliar voice of a man hissed, making Remus stiffen in fear.

“Now Harold-”

“Don’t act familiar with me, you sodding, old fool! Your actions have lead up to this atrocity and we now have a crisis on our hands!”

It got out that Remus was a Werewolf.  _How_?

“I assure you I meant for none of this to happen,” Dumbledore explained, seemingly more frantic than before.

“I severely doubt that,” the man countered in a snide tone, voice tight. “Horace Slughorn has sent many complaints to the Aurors about your precious Gryffindors. You know very well because you’ve also sent letters explaining his supposed dramatics away. It seems we should have listened because any group which half consists of a Dark Wizard from the Black family and a Dark Creature, going around attacking students and disfiguring them without punishment,  _should_ be taken to task.”

Oh Merlin! What had happened? Remus could feel his heart practically choking him by now, and the irregular beat made him even more unnerved. His breathing was uneven!

“They’re just boys being boys, Harold. No one has died or been irreparably damaged,” Dumbeldore tried to reason and honestly… it made Remus wince. That was not the right defence to use to the Minister’s face, since Remus was certain it  _was_ Harold Minchum who was chewing Dumbledore’s ear off.

“Maybe physical injury won’t last but what about mental trauma, Albus?” Minchum demanded. “Reports about the so-called Marauders attacking Slytherins of all years have increased this year alone. Reasoning for such actions involve _‘because they’re Death Eaters and exist’_. You’ve once again, allowed your Gryffindors free run of the castle to mete out punishment to those they deem deserving of suffering for what their loyalties  _might_ be. 

“ **Punishments such as:**  dangling from the Astronomy Tower for hours outside, being hogtied and left defenceless in the Forbidden Forest, tripping someone while they’re walking down the stairs, and even cursing students’ bodies to alarming degrees that take too much time and magic to fix for a single Medi-Witch. Not to mention that some victims are first years and some of those first years are muggleborns who don’t know about Slytherin’s unfortunate reputation. You’ve done a swell job at breeding a band of bullies. Again. And what’s worse, is one of them is a bloody Prefect who’s supposed to stop these things from happening!”

With every example the man gave, Remus could just feel himself sinking further and further into despair. He’d been there for each example and they’d all happened during their fifth year alone. He’d chosen not to involve himself in them. He thought he wouldn’t be considered a part of the pranks if he personally didn’t help. But he  _was_ a Prefect. It was his job to hold his friends accountable and he wasn’t doing that because he was scared they’d abandon him. So he gave detentions to everyone else instead.

Minchum was not finished it seemed. “The amount of reports Slughorn sent me over the Potter/Snape issue are even more numerous. You had ample opportunity to do something and never did. I understand that you hate every other House but Gryffindor but you honestly couldn’t be bothered to put aside that hatred and do right by the other students? You did this even when I was in school! It’s been over thirty years since then, Albus, and you haven’t changed a damn bit!”

“Things aren’t as bad as you think they ar-”

“ _Not as bad!_ ” the Minister hissed, voice rising to a more normal tone. “A boy is dead because of that _thing_ you’ve been illegally hiding, in the presence of other students no less!”

Dumbledore’s automatic defence of Remus fell on deaf ears, because he finally understood what was going on. Remus had somehow gotten his hands on a student and now they were dead. And Dumbledore couldn’t save him from the backlash of this.

“I find it so very interesting that the Marauder’s common target was the victim as well, Albus. And that the Dark Wizard is the one to send him into the jaws of their pet Dark Creature. It screams of a set up.”

Snape.

Remus had killed Snape.

Because of Sirius?

“I’m certain Mr. Black merely thought of it as a simple prank,” Dumbledore reasoned, making Remus shake his head in resignation. Of course Sirius would. Rarely did he think about others. It was his biggest fault that they chose to overlook because there was more to him than that.

“Mr. Black’s record is not a good one, Albus. He’s been in more detentions for skipping class than any other Hogwarts student has ever served. He’s known far and wide as a rule-breaker. He’s very vocally abusive toward Slytherin students. I don’t care if he thinks he’s in the right because in his mind they’re all followers of You-Know-Who, it is not his job to determine who deserves punishment. Dubious intentions aside, he’s a damn bully and you letting him and his friends do what they want simply because they’re Gryffindors, has lost a promising young boy his life.”

“You’re not  _seriously_ going to blame Mr. Lupin for this?” Dumbledore asked, sounding horrified.

“He was not the boy I meant. I talking about the Halfblood Snape boy, Albus! That  _thing_ is in part responsible for his death and if the Wizengamot doesn’t call for death in return, they’ll have him in Azkaban for life with periodical visits from the Dementors for good measure.”

“Mr. Lupin was completely unaware of what Mr. Black planned to do!”

“The Werewolf has had the power to stop his friends’ actions for months and has chosen to remain neutral while they commit their injustices upon others. He’s taken his side and shown us what he’s truly like,” said Munchim with cold finality. “You should have done your job and this wouldn’t be happening to you.”

“ _Me?_ ”

“Yes, you! When it goes public that you’ve failed as a Headmaster, your support base will crumble. You were our best chance against You-Know-Who and now this is going to ruin everything! We can’t keep his death from his parents! They have the right to know and his Pureblood mother, despite being disowned by the Prince line, can and  _will_ wreak all hell on us. The Princes might even help her just to tear you down because they despise you.”

It was all very clear what was going to happen.

Sirius had used Remus in a very callous way, because his immaturity couldn’t allow him to see things from outside his own perspective. He liked to act as if life was a big game and didn’t care to pay attention to others. Sirius was a rebel in all meanings of the word. He hadn’t built up the best of reputations and by extension the Marauders hadn’t either.

And because of that, Remus’ future was ruined and all those efforts to overcome his illness were destroyed. And nothing either he or Dumbledore could say to the Minister, would prove that Remus was innocent in intention. The bigotry against Dark Creatures, Werewolves in particular thanks to Fenrir Greyback, was terrible. Remus’ inaction when he should have stopped his friend’s from going too far, spoke volumes of his attitude to the Minister who was a muggleborn _and_ a former Slytherin _and_ a very anti-Dark Creature activist.

It was all a mess.

And by extension, this would impair Dumbledore’s efforts in the fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

And Sirius would not be walking away unscathed either. No matter how much he tried distancing himself from his family’s image, his actions just made him appear like any other Black. Like a condescending, bullying madman.

At present, all Remus could hope for was a death sentence. He didn’t want to be in Azkaban for the next several decades. He didn’t want to be constantly reminded of what he’d done while unaware. He didn’t want to have nightmares constantly over what Severus Snape’s body must have looked like when Moony was done with him.

Remus bowed his head and cried, tuning out the continuing argument on the other side of the room.

Perhaps this was what happened when one chooses to stand for nothing.

* * *

 

**A/N: The first is done!**

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	2. Sempra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Lily handles the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The chapter title is also a pun. 'Sempra' is Latin for 'forever'  
> or 'always'. This is in reference to Severus Snape's loyalty to  
> Lily even after she'd been long dead in canon. Lily's decision  
> fits this word well I think.

**A/N: Hello, people!**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**

**I have no beta.**

**ENJOY!**

**CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR.[HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON](http://helly-watermelonsmellinfellon.tumblr.com/).**

* * *

Lily came to by the vigorous shaking of her shoulder. What she found was Mary Macdonald leaning over her in a house coat, and looking very grave considering the hols were upon them. “You need to get up,” the other girl said urgently. “Classes have been canceled today.”

“What? Why?” Lily asked while sitting up.

Mary’s face contorted into a mask of shame and anguish. “Everyone else was going to just let you stay in and find out later but I thought it was only right you find out from a friend.”

And now she was getting worried.

After a second of consideration and worrying her bottom lip, Mary took a seat on the edge of Lily’s bed. “I will admit none of us could understand why you defend Snape so much after all the horrible things the Slytherins do, but it’s been revealed that Potter and his cohorts have been making up lies about Snape ever since first year because Potter was angry that you were friends with him and wanted you to hate him as well. We just believed him without a second thought.”

Well that wasn’t exactly surprising once she considered it. Every bloody Gryffindor kept coming at her with demands to know why she was still friends with Severus after all these supposed crimes he’d committed that they couldn’t prove nor could she disprove.

Hearing that James Potter was lying to them all to manipulate her into hating Sev wasn’t hard to believe at all. He’d been a right toerag since that first day on the train.

Mary took a deep, but very shaky breath. “It’s been revealed that Lupin is a Werewolf. It’s all over the school.”

Lily’s gasp was a cross between fear and surprise. She’d heard about what Werewolves like Greyback and his pack were like. Nothing good could be said about a Werewolf. And they’d been sharing space with one for five years? That explained why he was always ill!

“I… The whole school is buzzing about it,” Mary told her. “The other Marauders have known for some time. According to the murmurings, they got together when they found Snape outside after hours last night, and deliberately sent him in the direction of a transformed Lupin as some kind of joke or whatever they’re calling it.”

This gasp was full on horror. “Where’s Sev?” Lily demanded, already moving to stand.

Mary’s hand on her forearm halted all movement. “Wait! You don’t know everything yet!”

“Where’s Sev?” Lily repeated more forcefully.

“They- they could find all of him, Lily,” was Mary’s whispered reply.

* * *

Lily Evans stomped through the corridors, clad only in her night clothes, house coat, and a pair of shoes she’d spotted that she was certain were actually Mary’s. McGonagall would have answers, she reasoned. Her Head of House always had answers.

She didn’t even get to knock because the woman was stepping out of her office, face somber. “Come with me, Ms. Evans. We are going to the Headmaster’s office.”

No.

But they did. And when she stepped through the door to see James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew just standing there as if there was nothing serious going on, her wand came out faster than she ever remembered and she had all three dangling upside down courtesy of Sev’s own spell. 

“Ms. Evans, please release them,” Dumbledore asked calmly.

“They deserve it,” she reasoned.

McGonagall placed a hand on her shoulder and after several seconds of staring one another down, Lily released the spell and let the three buffoons crash to the stone floor in a tangled heap. “Tell me they’re getting punished for this!” she demanded of her Head of House. She was practically on the verge of bawling!

“For  _what_?” James Potter demanded as he got to his feet. “We don’t even know why we’re here! We’ve been kept in here for hours and we haven’t even done anything wrong!”

Sirius Black however, didn’t look as confident in that assessment. In fact, he looked very guilty which added to Lily’s growing ire. 

Dumbledore sighed. “Mr. Black knows very well what he’s done and as such it has had lasting consequences on all of you, especially Mr. Lupin.”

The students all stiffened upon mention of his name. Black’s lower lip quivered. “What happened to Moony?” he asked.

“You sending a fellow student, even one you didn’t like, after a mindless Werewolf has resulted in the death of that student, as well as ruined Remus Lupin’s future. He will either be sentenced to a lifetime in prison, or death. He’s absolutely heartbroken that you would use his affliction in such a way and has requested to never see any of you again. I have not managed to convince him to change his mind and Madam Pomfrey is respecting his wishes.”

Potter turned on Black instantly. “What did you do?”

“It’s not my fault Snivellus listened! He could have just walked away!”

“No, he really couldn’t!” Lily interjected, taking a threatening step forward in righteous anger. “I just found out you’ve all been spreading lies about him in Gryffindor Tower for years to get everyone to hate him unjustly. You’ve been bullying an abused child whose only reprieve from his magic-hating father is Hogwarts. He has been desperate to find some way to get you expelled because of it. So any chance to finally be rid of the four people intent upon making his life more hellish than it already was is obviously one he’d take! And you got him killed!”

Pettigrew looked like he was going to be ill. Potter’s face had paled, and Black’s mood soured even further.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to get their attention. “Professor Slughorn has reported you many times and I worked tirelessly to get those reports waived, but Minister Munchim’s point of view is not flattering. You are often in trouble, you don’t take your studies seriously, and you’ve assaulted many Slytherin students with no good reason, including muggleborn first years unaware of their House’s reputation. And in his eyes, a Dark Wizard sending your long-time victim right into a Dark Creature’s lair, is enough to tell him you are all guilty.

“As such, you three expressed an interest in working for the Ministry in the future and the Minister has already convinced multiple departments to deny you should you attempt to apply for a job with them. Your fellow schoolmates got wind of the drama very quickly and their opinions of you have plummeted. You’ll also be serving detentions for the rest of the school year and will all be suspended from Quidditch indefinitely. The Heads of House are united in this and I cannot ignore them or the Minister. You’ve essentially ruined yourselves.”

Lily crossed her arms to keep herself from cheering obscenely. It was no more than they deserved! And she was disappointed at how… blasé  the Headmaster was being about all of it! He made it sound as if he _didn’t_ want them to be punished at all when they literally did criminal things and got someone killed!

“We never wanted to kill ‘im,” Black murmured into his chest from where he’d bent his head too far for them to see his disgusting face.

Lily couldn’t withhold a scoff. “You’ve been calling him a Death Eater all term and in the Common Room all you’ve done is wish a gruesome death upon them and their master. You’re just like the rest of those monsters in your family. Lying about it won’t work anymore so just own up to it.”

“Ms. Evans!” Dumbledore hissed in affront, not that she cared. He’d proven to be utterly useless in taming his prized boys after all.

“If the niffler fits,” was all she could say, seeing as her anger was bleeding out and being replaced by the reality of the fact that her friend was dead. Her first friend outside Tuney. The person to tell her about magic and teach her what little he’d taught himself on his own. The friend who always wore women’s dresses because he was so poor his mum’s old clothes were all he had. The friend who she always had come to dinner because his parents just weren’t… Words to describe their ineptitude were sparse.

The Floo lit up suddenly, making them all step back in shock. Harold Munchim stood there impressively, mouth set in a firm line. He didn’t even look at Dumbledore, his gaze solely on Potter and his little gang. “The offenders I presume?”

But then his dark gaze landed on Lily and she could see confusion there. “What is your business here?”

McGonagall spoke for her, which was good because Lily suddenly found her throat very dry. “Ms. Evans was Mr. Snape’s best friend.”

“I was his  _only_ friend,” she insisted tightly.

Munchim nodded. “I’m sorry for your loss. I hope you realise what this means however.”

Her silence was answer enough for him, and he sighed. “It will be entrusted to you to pass on the boy’s legacy, because he can’t do it himself and has no one else to. Every stride you make from now on is for the both of you. That is how he’ll be remembered.” His words stirred her emotions even further.

Munchim then stepped aside as the flames lit up once more and Eileen Snape walked through them, looking far worse she ever had in her decades old, ratty clothing. And there was a massive bruise on her severely gaunt face that she seemed determined to ignore the implications of. “Where are my son’s possessions?” was all she asked of the Headmaster in a voice far too weak to be healthy.

Dumbledore waved a hand toward the meager, black trunk in front of his desk that Lily hadn’t noticed until then. It was Sev’s alright. Sev got it from his mum after all, who had used it while she was in school.

Eileen sniffed and looked at Lily. “You may have it all. Tobias wants nothing to do with magic. Put what you can to good use and do Severus proud.”

Sev’s mum had just given her what little he had. And that consisted of his treasured Potion’s book. The book had also belonged to his mum years ago, and was a bit outdated. He’d been correcting the potions recipes with improvements of his own ever since they started at Hogwarts. He loved that book more than anything else he owned.

And she was feeling inspired suddenly!

It was decided. Lily was going to be a Potioneer and she was going to see Sev’s great work published so all would remember him and his contribution to the Art.

Forever and Always.

* * *

**A/N: It is finished!**

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**Author's Note:**

> CHECK OUT MY OTHER HP FICS IF YOU'RE INTO HARRYMORT/TOMARRY. ^-^


End file.
